Here’s an excerpt describing the typical day in a Chinese high school. Contrast his description with life in your own high school.

I have to say that high school is a monastery and an army boot camp combined. Eleven classes every day. We had to rise before dawn and went to bed after 11. After the last class, we were encouraged to use any bit of extra time for study. There was one student who would go to read his lessons every night in the toilet, because that was the only place where the light would be kept on 24 hours. Everyone hated him, because his breach of a delicate equilibrium that is vital for us to live in peace with each other — he studied just a little too hard. The school encouraged us to be frugal with our time. It had a slogan hanging from the main building: “Time is like water in sponge; if you squeeze harder, there is always more.”

And contemplate this paragraph about the possible consequences of tying teacher pay to students’ performance on standardized tests.

It was not only the students dealing with a lot of stress, but the teachers as well. A teacher’s salary was determined by how many of the students that they were responsible for went to university. Even the school principal would be evaluated on such statistics. At my junior year, a girl committed suicide. Not a big surprise. There are always weak ones who just can’t make it. That is how natural selection works. The cause of the suicide was that the girl’s head teacher asked her to forgo the college entrance exam. Not that he hated her personally. He simply talked to all the students who were deemed hopeless and would only dilute the average results of the class. The girl refused. The teacher told the girl something that must have been very humiliating, and she drowned herself in the sea that afternoon.

It’s a different world here for students, folks. College is a picnic in comparison to the final three years of secondary education.

Elsewhere in the great state of Mississippi, another high school, fearful that the power of Teh Gay would strike its students blind, expunged a tuxedo-clad lesbian from her yearbook. No photo and no name.

Mississippi makes Kentucky look progressive by comparison.

Westboro, which I prefer to call Fred Phelps’ Family’s Home Hater Cult, hates gays and lesbians, Catholics, Jews, and probably a lot of other people. Moreover, church members believe that God Himself hates gays and lesbians, Catholics, Jews (who knew?), and probably a lot of other people. Westboro has picketed high schools with gay-lesbian associations, funerals of gay or lesbian soldiers killed in combat, shuls, Catholic churches, and tornado victims, to name just a few of their abominable activities.

Here’s what they say about McMillen (left). I am quoting from their website, OK? Don’t dump on me.

God doesn’t love everyone? Some father he is. Seems his son didn’t quite understand that message from Pops.

McMillen, 17, wanted to wear a tux and take her girlfriend to her prom. Her school said no. McMillen and her folks told the American Civil Liberties Union, which sent the school a “letter of demand,” saying the school should either allow McMillen to attend the prom, avec tux, or end up in court for violating her civil rights. The school took a third course, and canceled the prom altogether.

McMillen’s schoolmates AND their parents got all pissy, and naturally blamed her. A judge told the school it had to have a prom open to McMillen and her date, and there was — for about seven kids. The rest of the graduating class was whooping it up at a private shindig at a local country club.

So the last thing this girl needs is some bunch of fucked up lunatics from Kansas screwing up her graduation. Odds are her community will blame her for Westboro coming to town, unless of course they agree with Westboro, which is entirely possible.

Ceara Sturgis, an honors student from Copiah County in Mississippi, ducked out of her prom, but last fall gave her yearbook a photo of herself wearing a tuxedo. Her school nixed the photo, and she and her mom asked the ACLU to intervene. Wesson Attendance Center (WTF?) then refused to comply with the ACLU’s letter of demand, saying their legal counsel advised that the school stood on solid legal ground.

Probably the school referred to a court case that basically said a school can tell students to wear whatever the school mandates, and if the student fails to comply, the school can just omit the photo.

But Sturgis’ school completely left her out of the yearbook. No photo, of course, but also no gray rectangle with her name underneath. No mention of her academic honors. No name in the list of graduating seniors. Poof! She’s gone. Understandably, she and her mom, Veronica Rodriguez, are hopping mad.

Omitting her gray rectangle could have been a clerical error. High school yearbooks are rife with those. But taking her completely out of the yearbook speaks of outright (Westboro Baptist-style) maliciousness. It’s hard to say how it happened, since the school ain’t talking.

This blogger has contact information for Sturgis’ high school officials. If you’re inclined, tell them what the rest of the world thinks about small-minded and stupid high schools.

The website for the Wesson Attendance Center is here. Ronald Greer is WAC’s principal and you can email him here. Oscar Hawkins is WAC’s high school principal and you can email him here. The Stranger.com blog also has their phone and fax numbers, but I will not publish those.

This tiny high school in a tiny town (populated by people with tiny minds) has made international news because it told a lesbian student, Constance McMillen, that she (a) could not bring her female date and (b) could not wear a tux to the senior prom on April 2.

After she asked to bring her girlfriend, IAHS school officials told McMillen there were Rules for Senior Prom, which specifically forbid same-sex couples and stipulate that only boys can wear tuxedos. (For girls to wear tuxes apparently would bring on a plague of frogs, or some other Biblical catastrophe.)

McMillen and her parents approached the American Civil Liberties Union, which sent a letter of demand in February to the principal of IAHS informing her that the rules violated McMillen’s constitutional rights. So, the school did the honorable chickenshit thing — it withdrew its sponsorship and canceled the prom.

Of course, who became the scapegoat? Not the school, which had reneged on its traditional prom sponsorship, oh no! Her classmates and the community blamed poor Constance McMillen (and the commie atheist ACLU) for challenging what most would consider overly restrictive rules.

So, the compromise plan was for parents to host a private event with school chaperones that McMillen, in her tux, could attend with her GF. And believe it or not, such an event was actually held, but none of the “cool” kids showed up. They were at another, secret party at a nearby country club.

The quasi-official party had seven attendees, Constance and six other students, including two with learning differences — you know, the high school “misfits.” They stayed a half hour, and left.

And you thought your high school prom experience was bad.

Predictably, the “cool” kids (and their parents) are all so proud full of themselves, bragging on their Facebook pages about the great time they had without that “attention getting” McMillen and her sinful ways spoiling all their wholesome (cough, cough) fun.

[There are some public Flickr pages of the "cool" kids party. I'm glad they enjoyed themselves. I'm also glad I didn't have to chaperone it.]

The silver lining in all this bigotry and closemindedness is the boons that McMillen has received from the outside world. TV show host Ellen Degeneres invited McMillen to her show, and offered her a $30,000 scholarship to attend college. The website, Tonic.com, has offered McMillen a summer internship in New York City. A Facebook page created to balance an anti-McMillen FB page now has more members than its bizarro counterpart, which itself has been flooded by McMillen sympathizers.

Do people in Fulton feel any shame? Not that I can tell. Scrutiny from the outside world has just made them circle the wagons. Shame? Compassion? Charity? Nope, nothing to see here, folks. Move along now.

The Court’s action puts greater restrictions on religious clubs in public schools. As long as clubs do not limit membership based on religious faith, high schools can permit such clubs. If clubs shut out anyone from full membership based on a person’s faith, the schools have the right to ban the club.

It’s a sensible state of affairs, but I predict the religious right will squeal like stuck pigs, saying, “War on Christianity! War on Christianity!”

The losers in this court battle were two, now-former students of Kentridge High School, who in 2001 applied for a school charter for Truth, a Bible club. Truth members, who could be of any faith, would read Bible verses on the school intercom and decorate the school once a month.

Then a federal court ruled that religion-based clubs in public school did not automatically violate the Constitutional separation of church and state. Truth’s founders, Sarice Undis and Julianne Stewart, upped the ante. They changed the rules of their club and applied for a new charter, since the student council had not yet acted on their first application.

Now, anyone could join Truth, but to be full voting members, they would have to profess “belief in the Bible and in Jesus Christ.”

The student council declined to consider the second application. Then, Undis and Stewart upped the ante again, changing the club’s rules to require voting members to sign a “statement of faith” accepting Jesus Christ as their “personal savior” and the Bible as “the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.”

The student council demurred, but eventually denied Truth’s latest charter application on April 1, 2003. Big surprise. No foolin’.

Two days later, Truth and its founders filed suit, alleging their rights under the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Equal Access Act had been violated. The school district, meanwhile, argued that restricting voting membership to only those signing the statement of faith meant the club, and therefore the school, was favoring one religion over any other — a violation of the Establishment Clause.

On April 25, Undis and Stewart (who could have been called Don Quijote and Sancho, by this time) applied yet again for a charter, adding even more details to the rules and purpose of the club.

[To me, their second and third applications smell like a deliberate attempt -- probably encouraged by parents, pastors or other adults -- to test the limits of church-state separation. But it's just a hunch. Why make the club more exclusive each time, otherwise?]

The third application also went down in flames. Now the fate of Truth rested in the courts. No joy there, either.

Lower courts sided with the school district. Undeterred, Undis and Stewart brought the case to the Supreme Court, where it ultimately ran aground. The court declined without comment to hear their appeal, and a related appeal by the school district.

The court battle is not over, according to the Seattle Times. Truth’s founders may file another suit, contending that clubs that limit membership on the basis of gender are precedent, meaning Truth can also limit its membership.

Such an argument, in my opinion, would eventually fail in the courts. Students can easily choose their faith, but they cannot easily choose their gender, after all.

The Times says Undis and Stewart have not decided on their next course of action, if any.
—
Further reading:
Education Week
Ruling by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Truth’s appeal before Supreme Court

Go, Tyler!

His local paper, The Courier, printed this photo of Tyler and his sweetheart having some additional non-fundie fun in the parking lot of her school. (Caution: This photo may lead to thoughts of lust and … dancing. I am not responsible for any consequences that may ensue.)

To recap this little story of life in Jesusland, Frost is a senior at Heritage Christian School, a conservative Baptist school that forbids dancing, listening to rock music, and other such sinful behavior. Tyler’s girlfriend, Rebecca Smoody, attends Findlay High School, which in addition to having a traditional senior prom also condones dancing and listening to rock music. The couple wanted to attend the prom together.

FHS requires guests of its students to get permission from their own schools’ principals to attend the FHS prom. Frost did, but his principal said if he went, Frost would violate HCS behavioral regulations and face suspension.

Frost and his family feel the HCS regs should only pertain to behavior during school hours, and not after hours elsewhere. So Frost went, and his school suspended him.

He told his local paper that he enjoyed the dance (his first), and while he found the music a little too loud, “he certainly did not hear any music he hasn’t heard before.”

Sounds like Tyler has already bent a few HCS rules already. Whatta rebel!

Meanwhile, the principal of HCS had this to say on the school’s website,

In the Old Testament, Joseph was in a place of temptation and he fled. Unlike this situation, he didn’t put himself in that place. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” II Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee also youthful lusts but follow after righteousness faith charity and peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” When the school committee, many years before I became the principal, set up the policy regarding dancing, I am confident that they had the principle of fleeing lustful situations in mind. The question as I see it is, should a Christian place themselves at an event where young ladies will have low cut dresses and be dancing in them? Isn’t it contrary to the example of Joseph and the verses that I stated?

Correct me if I’m wrong here. Frost was not going to a strip club; he was going to a High. School. Prom. This school needs to join the 21st century … or even the 17th century.

Meanwhile, Frost and his stepfather have made the requisite appearance on national TV (the Early Show, though they both walked off before the interview was over) and are planning, in true American fashion, to file a lawsuit against Heritage Christian School.

You know, you could make a movie about this … wait, nevermind, someone already did, 25 years ago.

If Frost goes to his girlfriend’s prom at the worldly Findlay High School, Heritage Christian School will suspend him, thereby depriving Frost of the chance to participate in his graduation ceremony. The boy, bless his little romantic heart, plans to attend his girlfriend’s prom anyway. He’s never been to a dance before.

Attaboy, Tyler!

Heritage Christian School, a Baptist torture chamber prison camp gulag school, forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing, I guess because Jesus didn’t do that kind of worldly stuff.

I have my doubts about that. There’s that whole thing about water into wine…

Anyway, Frost followed the rules for Findlay High and got his principal’s permission to attend the bacchanalia orgy Animal House party prom.

“I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid,” Frost said. “I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end.”

[Heritage Principal Tim] England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.

“In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other,” England said.

Holy Judgmental Asshole, Batman! “To please self or to please God?” Is there an 11th commandment, like, “Thou shalt not have fun,” that only this church school knows about? Find me a Bible reference that forbids high school proms, Mr Principal Poop, sir. I challenge you.

(Does Ohio breed wacko Christians? There’s the whole fracas involving science teacher John Freshwater using his classroom to indoctrinate his pupils in his own kind of Xtreme Xianity.)

Meanwhile, the principal at Findlay High (the sinful apostate corrupt satanic public school) had this to say:

“I don’t see (dancing and rock music) as immoral acts,” Craig Kupferberg said.

Amen, brother.

Ja, mein commandant!

The details are in the local newspaper story here. The district says it is preparing a more formal legal response to a letter the American Civil Liberties Union sent them last week.

Meanwhile, some parents want the board to take some disciplinary action against the principal, Daphne Beasley. A small but vocal contingent of parents confronted the board at its meeting Monday evening.

“I’m disgusted,” Memphis parent Natasha Burnett told Eyewitness News Everywhere. “I’m disgusted by it.”

…

“Firing her may be too harsh,” says Burnett, “but something needs to be done about that. No faculty member should be able to out a student like that.”

The students in question had just started a relationship that they were trying to keep quiet. The parents of the boys were not aware they were gay, until Beasley called the parents, outraged that they had gay children at her school.

Her actions were supposedly to quell “public displays of affection” on campus, but according to one school official students were taking PDAs to new levels.

School Board Commissioner Kenneth Whalum, Junior, says he understands the concerns of these parents, but says the principal had to take action.

“Some kids were engaged in sex acts in plain view on campus,” says Whalum, “and that wasn’t the first time.”

Commissioner Whalum says the district’s legal team told the school board that no policies or laws were broken by Principal Beasley or any other staff members at HFP.

“From what I’m hearing,” says Whalum, “she has not violated anybody’s rights. And certainly if she has, the ACLU has the resources to determine whether or not that’s so. But from what our attorney says…we’re good.”

Well, I beg to differ. Even if the kids were screwing in public (unlikely), divulging their sexual orientations widely and pestering their parents seems like an invasion of privacy and an example of authority running wild.

This is one case worth watching.